An amazing story of how Edmonton’s Adam Shaw and his dog Rocky rescued Krymzen and Samara Sunshine is a heart warming story that shows the bravery of strangers and how proud we are of these heroes.

The man was out for a walk in a city park with his wife, kids and dog Rocky when they heard the commotion. Shaw and Rocky eventually were able to rescue the two girls who were floating on the North Saskatchewan River.

"I'm very grateful for Adam Shaw and his dog," Sunshine said, according to the CBC. "My girls are safe and sound. He is truly our angel."

"We looked down to see one young girl floating in the river and her sister trying to pull her out," Shaw said Monday at a firehall news conference. "We tried to yell to them to hang onto the ice and stay where they were if they could."

Shaw first rescued Krymzen, but Samara was floating down the river. Rocky swam out to Samara who was disappearing under water. Held on to Rocky’s leash and the dog got back to Shaw, who dragged the girl out. The two girls spent the night in hospital and are fine.

Shaw says Rocky is an "adventurous" dog who likes to go in and out of the water. "He's always shocking us with jumping off the ice and stuff like that his whole life, so I knew that he could jump in the water and swim back, no problem," he told the Canadian Press.

"I think he knew something out of the ordinary was going on. After it all happened, we were sitting on the shore and he's a pretty active dog, he's usually running around and stuff, but he came and sat down beside me and beside the girl and he didn't move," Shaw told CP.

Here are more accolades for the pair.

Close



Rocky and Adam Shaw Save Girls

of





#AdamShaw and his dog Rocky are my heros. "Father of girls pulled from Edmonton river praises rescuer" http://t.co/gZxLC7VFmm

EDMONTON - Adam Shaw was taking an Easter stroll with his wife, two young children and the family dog when they heard the screams.

It sounded at first as if kids were cavorting in the spring sunshine in a northeast Edmonton park.

But Shaw and his wife, Kelsey, quickly realized that two girls had been playing on ice near a footbridge and had fallen into the bone-chilling water of the wide North Saskatchewan River.

"We looked down to see one young girl floating in the river and her sister trying to pull her out," he recalled Monday at a firehall news conference. "We tried to yell to them to hang onto the ice and stay where they were if they could."

After asking his wife to dial 911, Shaw called his eight-year-old lab-husky-cross Rocky to his side and together they scrambled down the steep bank through tangles of bushes and onto the river ice.

By now the second girl, 9, had fallen in.

Shaw managed to pull her six-year-old sister out reasonably quickly.

"The ice was still fairly solid where she was and I was able to pull her out. I told her to head back to shore and stay there and wait for help."

But even in those few moments, the situation grew more dire.

"The second girl had floated quite a ways down the river. She was bobbing in and out. We could barely see her, so we started running down the ice, trying to get close to her."

He yelled out to her so she knew he was there. He asked her if she could swim closer to the ice. But she said she was really cold and couldn't move her arms or legs.

That's when things got even worse. Shaw was trying to throw Rocky's leash to the girl when he fell in and Rocky fell in with him. That's when Shaw "got scared for myself."

"It was breath-taking. It was very cold."

But the adrenalin was pumping and he just kept going.

Man and dog tried to pull themselves back to shore, but the thinning ice kept collapsing beneath them.

"It kept breaking, kept breaking."

Rocky finally managed to get his front paws on the ice.

"I pushed his back end up so he was on the ice, then used the leash and him to pull myself up on the ice."

Shaw realized he needed to try a different approach if he wasn't going to become a victim.

"I just really didn't want to fail," Shaw said.

By this time, he couldn't see the second girl. He said it seemed as if his eyes searched for her a long time along the expanse of open water.

"I started to look around and I couldn't see her. She had gone underneath the water and I thought she was gone. She popped up ... down the river and she was still screaming and I started to run after her again."

Shaw and his dog got as close as they could.

"I put the leash around Rocky and pushed him to get in the water. I told her I was going to get him to jump in and if she could grab a hold of his leash, we could get her back to the ice."

Rocky, a burly canine with a greying muzzle, jumped in right beside the girl and she managed to cling to his leash.

"I called him back and he swam towards the ice."

Again the ice crumbled as Rocky swam closer with the girl in tow. But Shaw managed to grab the dog and the girl's arm and pull them both to safety. The girl was hypothermic.

He tried carrying her back up the bank, but it was too steep, so they sat down at the edge of the river. Amazingly, despite getting cold and wet, his cellphone rang. It was the emergency rescue team telling him to stay put.

Later, after the girls had been taken to hospital where they were examined and declared fine, Shaw called his mom. He told her he was famished from the exertion and she said she would bring him a burger — and one for Rocky, too.

Shaw said he isn't surprised by his dog's actions.

"He's very adventurous. He's always in and out of the water. He's always shocking us with jumping off the ice and stuff like that his whole life, so I knew that he could jump in the water and swim back, no problem."

He also feels Rocky sensed he had to come through with some heroics.

"I think he knew something out of the ordinary was going on. After it all happened, we were sitting on the shore and he's a pretty active dog, he's usually running around and stuff, but he came and sat down beside me and beside the girl and he didn't move," Shaw said.

"When the rescue team actually approached us, he was growling at them, which is kind of out of the ordinary for him, so I think he was a little scared for me or something."

Rocky has no special training other than spending a lot of time outdoors with Shaw, who has had him since he was a puppy.

Edmonton's fire chief presented Shaw with a fire rescue helmet for his bravery, while Rocky was given a big, rawhide bone he gnawed on enthusiastically.

Shaw said he thought about little else the whole time except getting the girls out of the frigid water.

"They were really scared. They were screaming. I just wanted to help them."

It didn't really hit him until later that night.

"My family came over and we started talking about it, how it could have gone a lot differently. That's when it started to sink in. It worked out well.

"It was a good ending to a scary experience."

Also on The Huffington Post

Close



Random Acts Of Kindness

of





To honor the memory of a soldier who was killed in action, Jeff Beurline corded off a special spot at his local bar in Connecticut for Lt. Michael P. Murphy. Beurline bought Murphy -- or "Murph," as he was known by friends -- a Guinness and propped a reserved sign on the beer alongside an American flag. The bartender not only agreed to pour random strangers a Guinness throughout the day, but also offered to pay the costs. Read Beurline's account of the act of kindness in his post on Seal of Honor's Facebook page.
(Image via Facebook, Jeff Beurline).

A McDonald's surveillance camera caught a San Diego police officer's small -- but powerful -- act of kindness on tape. What makes the moment special is not the act itself, but that it happened mere minutes before the officer, Jeremy Henwood, was gunned down in his patrol car.

To protect the family of Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale from anti-gay protesters on the day of his funeral, Texas A&M students and alumni donned maroon and formed a human wall. Westboro Baptist Church members, who often stage demonstrations military funerals, were planning to stage a protest outside Tisdale's funeral, but never showed up. Fortunately, an estimated 650 people in maroon were there to make sure the family could mourn in peace.
(Image via Facebook, Leslie Mott)

Sara Tucholsky, a softball player for Western Oregon University, scored a three-run homerun for the first time in her college career in a game against Central Washington University.
But while touching first base, she injured her knee. The rules stated that none of her teammates could assist her. So instead, two players from the opposing team -- Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace -- carried Tucholsky to each base. All three players received a standing ovation.

Wheelchair-bound Patrick Connelly began to cry when he couldn't see over the standing fans at a Blake Shelton concert. His mother, Cheryl Connelly, and her daughter, tried to pick Patrick up so he could see, but were unable to hold his weight for long in the sweltering heat. It wasn't until two strangers hoisted Patrick up and held him aloft for a half-hour that Patrick was able to finally enjoy the concert.

It was the fourth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game. A player tossed a ball into the stands and 12-year-old Ian McMillan ended up catching it while a younger baseball fan cried on the sidelines. Seeing the young boy's reaction, Ian handed over his prize, later explaining "it was the right thing to do."

After winning the state title for the 1600 meter race, Ohio track star Meghan Vogel intentionally finished in last place in the 3200 meter race by carrying an injured competitor over the finish line.

While in China, Jason Loose, who is now known as "French Fry Brother," sat down to chat with a homeless woman and offered her some of his fries. Loose's random act of kindness, caught on camera by a passerby, made waves among Chinese microblogging sites for his altruism.
(Image via Matt Cao/Sina Weibo)

Aaron Collins' family fulfilled his final wish by giving a $500 tip to an unsuspecting waitress at Puccini's Smiling Teeth in Lexington, Ky. "Are you serious?" the waitress asked after being handed the hefty cash tip. Yes, the Collins family is serious and plans to continue handing out $500 tips in Aaron's memory.

Vincent Gabriel Kirouac is making his way across Canada with his horse Coeur de Lion in a crusade to promote manners and chivalry. While the 22-year-old has saved up for the journey over the past two years, he told CBC that he has never spent a night outdoors. In fact, Kirouac relies on kind strangers to provide free room and board each night.

Sean O'Connor posted a call-out on Reddit on behalf of his uncle Scott Widak, who was terminally ill and had Down syndrome.
"He is currently bedridden and living out his last days at home with my 85 year old grandmother. One of his favorite things to do is open mail...anyone feel like sending him a letter or card?" O'Connor wrote in a post. Within days, Reddit users sent hundreds of letters and gifts to the bedridden 47-year-old.
O'Connor returned to Reddit in July following his uncle's death to thank users for reaching out.

When 8-year-old Johnny Karlinchak saw his neighbor's house crushed by a 60-foot-oak, he ran to his piggy bank and emptied its contents into his neighbor's hands. Unfortunately, the $1.25 would not cover Elissa Myers' $500 deductible so Johnny took to what he knew best -- selling lemonade -- to cover the deficit.
(Image via Getty)

Cyclist Lewis Dediara captured his random act of kindness on tape during one of his bike rides through London. Dediara, who wears a head-mounted camera, offered to buy a homeless man whatever he wanted to eat from a nearby convenience store after he found him sifting through a trash can.

Customers at a particular Tennessee gas station got quite a surprise when they learned that their gas was already paid for by a generous stranger. Don Reed decided to fill up 80 strangers' cars with money out of his own pocket and send them on their way. His generosity was all part of a plan to spread holiday cheer in December.

Sacrificing the safety of her own vehicle, Lezlie Bicknell acted on instinct and rushed to the rescue of two children left unattended in a van that was slowly rolling out of a New Mexico parking lot toward a busy intersection.

Local businesses in Aurora, Colo., banded together to restore a woman's Jeep that had been stolen and destroyed following news reports of the unfortunate theft. After two weeks of nonstop work, Jovan Williams' Jeep was returned to her in 'better-than-new' condition.

Following a post on Reddit by her dad, Kyle, 5-year-old Alexis Blackburn received a flurry of cards and well wishes from caring strangers. The overflow of support for Alexis inspired someone to create a Reddit thread seeking other sick children in need of encouragement.
(Image via Imgur)

Fiona, a poodle mix, was sick, blind and infested with fleas when she was rescued from a trash heap by Eldad Hagar and his wife Audrey. After a nationwide fundraising effort that raised $4,000 for an eye surgery, Fiona is now able to see in one eye. She was adopted by a caring family and is reportedly "doing amazing."
CORRECTION: This slide has been updated to show the correct spelling of Eldad's last name.

After receiving a phone call from a Georgia animal shelter, Brenda Travis and her husband Tom Shield were overjoyed to learn that their basset hounds, who had been missing for five years, had been found. However, the couple, who had relocated to Kansas, did not have the means to pick up the dogs, so they turned to volunteers on Facebook who offered to bring the dogs nearly 1,000 miles from the Georgia animal shelter to the couple's home in Kansas.